Some Urgent Care Operators Have Found Telemedicine Useful in the Pandemic—so What’s Next?

Many urgent care operators who couldn’t see the value in offering telemedicine services when patients could visit them on site at-will have changed their thinking since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold. Too many patients decided they could wait, or forego care completely, rather than take what they saw as a risk in visiting a healthcare facility. As it turned out, telemedicine gave those operators a chance to stay connected with patients and provide care where otherwise they might not have been able to. And payers and legislators responded by easing the route to reimbursements. Now some are wondering what role telemedicine can play as things start to open up in the U.S. Summit CityMD, for one, saw their telemedicine visits skyrocket from 20 per day to multiple thousands per day after they closed their offices (except for essential visits) in March. And the tide has turned so much for MedExpress that it announced it’s going to close four locations in Grand Rapids, MI but devote more resources to telemedicine (including those centered in the five locations that will remain open). While the U.S. health system gears up for another anticipated increase in COVID-19 cases, it’s time to assess how you fared in the first spike and how you can best prepare for the next—whether that includes expanding your remote capabilities or not.